(BTCC content) Treat a man like an animal....

[ian_c_uk]

...and he will begin to behave like one.

I've been watching touring cars for well over 20years. Trying not to mention names, and have fans defending drivers, I think there is a "pattern" to many of the BTCC drivers. I feel we have seen many clean drivers as start out as underdogs, fighting against the establishment, getting the odd good result, but also being punted off from time to time.

It always seems they "have enough" and start to dish out the same. Being stuck behind someone does not give permission to outbrake yourself and push them off. All the experienced drivers know what a punt to the rear, or even better inside rear, going into a corner will do to the car they don't have the talent or pace to pass cleanly.

I'm all for doorhandle contact, rubbing's racing, maybe a squeeze towards edge of track, but I'm getting a little tired of the "established drivers" knocking someone off the track. Turning them around and into the tyres will only result in a newbie running out of budget, or losing his temper and starting to dish it out, and so it continues.

It's great to see new drivers like Wrathall "back out" of moves he couldn't complete without contact. Question is, how long will he be polite when many around him will win "at any cost"?

[Cyder]

In my opinion the racing this season has generally been much cleaner than in the past few years.

I know there have still been a few 'puntings' and the odd 'love tap', but there seems to be far less of the full on barging.

[georgetuk]

Part of the reason I don't really watch the BTCC, its like bumper cars. The more established drivers in WTCC relish races with others but never knock them off, thats if anyone can get close to the Chevrolet lot!

It all just seems a little lo-fi and street racing to me. Look at DTM too yes there are accidents but no careening on the inside bumping people off line.

[anonymous-user]

It's always been part of the series though, you know that people are going to 'rub' another driver, and it's almost expected in the BTCC these days

[P I Staker]

Yoof Full Chav said:

It's always been part of the series though, you know that people are going to 'rub' another driver, and it's almost expected in the BTCC these days

I agree with this (Nice post count by the way), its been there for ages and if i watch the older races on youtube (Before my time) its there as well.

I dont think theres really a problem most the time, it rarely gets really silly, I would say MacDowell putting Neate sideways at Rocking was verging on the very silly though.

[EDLT]

I think it was actually worse in "the good ole days" when manufacturers were picking up the bill for bodywork damage. If ITV actually showed the racing further down the grid you'd see a little rubbing but no punting each other off because they just can't afford to fix the cars every race (with a couple of loaded exceptions).

At the front its always Plato or Neal that are involved in the big accidents

[mnkiboy]

I like to see a bit of door handle to door handle racing, or maybe a slight push in to a tight corner, but some of the manouvres recently have been far too blatant.
I was very dissapointed to see Boardman knock Plato off the track at Knockhill, as that looked like it was going to be a good battle.

Good on Frank Wrathell for not getting involved in that sort of racing, but i'm sure it's only a matter of time before Neal or Plato, desperate for that extra point, barge him off the circuit.

[NHK244V]

Wrathall already said he backed out cos he wasn't involved in the championship hunt at that point, if he was i'm pretty sure he would have given "it" the same as everyone else, nowt to do with being new or not yet been treated like an animal, just simply not wanting to help decide the championship for somone else.
Sometimes things are really as simple as they appear and there's no need read any more into it.

[anonymous-user]

EDLT said:

I think it was actually worse in "the good ole days" when manufacturers were picking up the bill for bodywork damage. If ITV actually showed the racing further down the grid you'd see a little rubbing but no punting each other off because they just can't afford to fix the cars every race (with a couple of loaded exceptions).

At the front its always Plato or Neal that are involved in the big accidents

Back when the BTCC changed from a multiple Class formula, to the first year of 2.0 NA cars, the usual suspects, Hoy(r.i.p)rouse,cleland,,harvey etc were forever bending cars, and it was rare to see a car finish a race intact, so today's drivers are tame by comparison, but yep, agreed, it always seems to be those two involved somehow, it's almost like they are obsessed with each other isnt it.